What role does Architecture play in the education of people who place on the autistic spectrum and what factors must be taken into considerations when designing education spaces for those with ASD?
The main space uses lightweight dividers are to create flexible spaces, enabling space for socialising, catering and activities (fig.20). Lightweight and portable chairs used in this space, which further enable the main room to act as a multi-purpose and flexible space, the choice of furniture also allows students to move it and enable or prevent social interaction with others. Different textures are used on the flooring of various spaces in the building, enabling autistic students to differentiate between circulation spaces and learning spaces. However, this is not carried through into compartmentalization of classrooms, which are covered in one continuous texture, suggesting that the entirety of the space is used for educational purposes.
CASE STUDY: JONATHON SILVER BUILDING, SHIPLEY COLLEGE
Jonathon Silver building, Shipley College, located in Bradford, is a school and centre built and designed for young people with learning difficulties and disabilities (Lowson, 2001) (fig.15-17). The college was built by Rance Booth Smith Architects, opened in 2015 and won the LABC award for Best Educational Building. Bradford has a high number of autistic and disabled children and with a low number of schools for Autistic children (NAS only has three day-schools in Bradford) (National Autistic Society, 2016); there was a need for autistic educational support. The site is located within a conservation area and adjoins a National Heritage site (Salts Mill). In order to adhere to the relevant conservation regulations, World Heritage Officers and Senior Council Conservation officers were involved with the design and construction processes. During a visit to the Jonathon Silver building, a talk was given by RBS Architect and was followed by a tour of the College.
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Although there are not any designated withdraw or escape spaces in the building, students are able to relocate lightweight furniture and sit in corners of spaces or structural corners within the building. Doing this removes them from social situations, enabling an autistic person to recalibrate in a space with minimal sensory stimulation.
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Classrooms are wider in comparison to other autistic schools as the college also caters for students with physical disabilities, and larger classrooms provide sufficient space for wheelchair users. Wider corridors and circulation spaces are also wider than average; this reduces the chances of autistic students involuntarily coming into contact with others (Assirelli 2010), which may result in a sudden overload of sensory information (National Autistic Society, 2016).
A floor to ceiling window lights the main space and additional skylights illuminate the other end of the space reducing the reliance on artificial lighting. Research has found that artificial light can negatively affect the wellbeing of some autistic people increasing “stress and discomfort” (Gaines, Bourne, Pearson, Kleibrink, 2016 pg.146). Angled fins constructed out of timber are fixed onto the exterior of large windows (fig.18). This design feature enables sunlight to enter into the space, provides privacy for the students as well as the neighbours and reduces views which would act as distractions. Whilst a lot of natural light is used within the main space and the classrooms, artificial light is also used to illuminate the interior of the building further. Although circulation space has a window, and the curved ceiling helps to reflect some sunlight, artificial lighting is the main source of light within this space (fig.19).
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fig.21 Vanessa Bell 2016
fig.22 Vanessa Bell 2016
fig.21 Vanessa Bell 2016
Muted and natural colours are used in the building with no bright colours to reduce stimuli and make the space more comfortable for autistic students. Doors are a contrasting colour to the walls, enabling partially sighted students easily find the entrance to classrooms (fig.18). Within the classrooms, there are no provisions for wall displays or open storage space, which would increase stimuli, making the space distracting and more uncomfortable to ASD students (fig.21).
Carpeting used within the learning spaces absorbs sound waves as the soft material prevents sound waves from reverberating off of hard surfaces, reducing the amount of noise within the space. Soundboards, in a similar colour to the interior walls also absorb sound, reducing the auditory stimuli within the space in addition to the sound insulation built into the structure of the building (fig.22).
